About
🌟 Job Title: Unity Advocate & Collaboration Catalyst 🌟
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Hello! My name is Darren Smithson, and I am a committed Unity Advocate dedicated to promoting collaboration among businesses, educational institutions, political entities, and community organizations.
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Value Proposition: My expertise lies in breaking down barriers and promoting inclusive cooperation to improve project outcomes and drive positive change for the benefit of all.
Ideal Client: I collaborate with progressive individuals and organizations who understand the strength in unity and are exploring or already dedicated to fostering a more cohesive and influential world through cross-sector or cross-departmental collaboration. If you're prepared to move beyond compartmentalized thinking and adopt a more integrated approach, you've found the right partner!
Call to Action: Join us in creating a unified ecosystem where everyone prospers. Reach out today to begin your path towards comprehensive collaboration and impactful change. Together, we have the power to effect true transformation!
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A Rebel in the FDG* if ever there was one.
* The FDG was created by Blackie Lawless... see 'The Headless Children' by W.A.S.P.)
Embracing​ Change Isn't Optional Anymore.
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WHO I AM. I worked for over 35 years in big corporations, small enterprises, local government, education and more, and have been running my own company for more than 10 years. I have made and seen all the mistakes that anyone setting up in business can make, whether that is as a sole trader, a social enterprise or a small business. I've probably done the same in my life too! But I have a simple philosophy: I never fail so long as I learn! So my new book, YOU 2.0 (out soon) distils all the lessons I have learned on my journey, the experiences I have had, observations I have made of the actions of others, and ideas and concepts I have developed over the decades of my life.
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One of my most influential papers was one I wrote many decades ago- long before the internet- entitled "Embracing the Future". In it I posited the simple premise: we must constantly adapt or die. That meant accepting that what made us great in the past, may not work today and will almost certainly doom us tomorrow.
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Sadly, what I didn't do was work out how to elegantly seek to make changes. Instead I ran head first into the brick walls of accepted orthodoxy, vested interests and cultures not just resistant to chance, but positively fearful of it. It took me years to realise that my approach was problematic because it immediately put the ones behind the wall into defensive mode.
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So now I am trying a new approach or three, to see if I can take some of you with me. To show you how you can both respect the orthodoxy of the past but create a new orthodoxy for the future. What I have realised, in seeking to do this, is that the same concepts that can enable elegant change in business are, by and large, the same concepts that can enable positive change in communities, education, public service and, critically, one self.
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And, to be clear, I am still working on that last aspect myself. But I have that simple axiom: I never fail so long as I learn. So when I mess up (and boy, have I messed up in the past!), I look at it, work it out and do my best to learn from my mistakes. What I really want to do is help you avoid my mistakes and make those changes- whether in business or inside you- and show you how you, your business or team or organisation, can, indeed, embrace the future.
Talks, Lectures & Training
Serious or thought provoking fun. You choose. I deliver.
I have a series of talks, training sessions, workshops and lectures that can be delivered on site, that suit almost all types of organisations.
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These include:
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Workshops on blue sky thinking, planning for the future, direction setting and more.
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Training on policies, basic project management, planning.
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Key note talks on the future, which can be tailored to your specific industry,
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Lectures on science and technology now and going ahead 50 years and how it could affect work, society and education.
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Fun talks on robots, time, aliens, multiple realities and more, great for encouraging family learning and an interest in science (or as an after dinner bit of fun for your staff).
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The Big Idea
Building the Practical Utopia.
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I have a steadfast belief that the worlds of business, education, local government, science and community should all in fact be one world, working together for the betterment of all. The one good thing that came out of Covid-19 is it showed what governments, science and business can do working together.
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Imagine what we could achieve if all these strands came together with education and communities with an idea to delver the best of each to all!
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This site will therefore start to feature ideas and discussions about the promotion of what this belief actually means, both in theory and in practice, and will explore the supporting ideas and processes that must be enabled to move towards what I call “a practical utopia.”
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Come back soon to darreninform.com to find out how but if you work for a local council and want to explore a big idea that could help regenerate your region, please contact me now to discuss how my idea can become your blueprint.